Wearable device enabling multi-finger gestures

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the subject matter described herein provide a wearable device enabling multi-finger gestures. The wearable device generally includes a first sensor, a second sensor and a controller. The first sensor can detect a first set of one or more movements of a first finger of a user. The second sensor can detect a second set of one or more movements of a second finger that is different from the first finger. The controller is configured to detect a multi-finger gesture by determining a relative movement between the first finger and the second finger based on the first and second sets of movements and to control a terminal device in association with the wearable devices based on the multi-finger gesture.

BACKGROUND

Wearable devices are smart electronic devices (electronic devices withmicrocontrollers) that can be worn on the bodies as implants oraccessories. These wearable devices can perform many of the samecomputing tasks as mobile phones and laptop computers. A wearable devicemakes technology pervasive by interweaving it into daily life. Examplesof wearable devices include, but are not limited to, watches, glasses,contact lenses, e-textiles and smart fabrics, headbands, beanies andcaps, jewelry such as rings, bracelets, and hearing aid-like devicesthat are designed to look like earrings. Many efforts have been put onexpanding input modalities and functions of wearables, with lessattention paid to wearability and usability aspects. Furthermore, awearable device with complicated hardware (e.g., high-cost sensors) andcalculation demanding software leads to high power consumption and acumbersome device form.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the subject matter described herein provide a wearabledevice. Generally, the wearable device includes two sensors and acontroller. A first sensor is configured to detect one or more movementsof a first finger of a user, while a second sensor is configured todetect one or more movements of a second finger that is different fromthe first finger. The controller is configured to determine a relativemovement between the first finger and the second finger based on themovements of the first and second fingers. Such relative movementdefines a multi-finger gesture. Then the controller can control aterminal device associated with the wearable device based on themulti-finger gesture.

It is to be understood that the Summary is not intended to identify keyor essential features of implementations of the subject matter describedherein, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the subjectmatter described herein. Other features of the subject matter describedherein will become easily comprehensible through the description below.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other objectives, features and advantages of the subjectmatter described herein will become more apparent through more detaileddepiction of example embodiments of the subject matter described hereinin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein in the exampleembodiments of the subject matter described herein, same referencenumerals usually represent same components.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example application of thewearable device according to embodiments of the subject matter describedherein;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example structure of thewearable device according to embodiments of the subject matter describedherein;

FIG. 3 shows an example of watchband powering the wearable deviceaccording to embodiments of the subject matter described herein;

FIGS. 4a-4h are schematic diagrams illustrating an example multi-fingergesture and associated sensor data;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the wearable device worn on athumb, according to embodiments of the subject matter described herein;

FIGS. 6a-6h are schematic diagrams illustrating another examplemulti-finger gesture and associated sensor data;

FIG. 7a is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of movement-setcan be input by the device with 2-axises movements;

FIG. 7b is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of movement-setcan be input by the device with tapping movements;

FIG. 8a is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of“Activation/Deactivation” movements;

FIG. 8b is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of“Activation/Deactivation” of multi-finger gestures.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented at the wearabledevice according to embodiments of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of movement detection ofthe wearable device according to embodiments of the subject matterdescribed herein;

FIG. 11a is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the wearabledevice controlling a smartwatch according to embodiments of the subjectmatter described herein;

FIG. 11b is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the wearabledevice controlling an earphone according to embodiments of the subjectmatter described herein;

FIG. 11c is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the wearabledevice controlling a Head Mount Display (HMD) according to embodimentsof the subject matter described herein; and

FIG. 11d is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the wearabledevice controlling a television according to embodiments of the subjectmatter described herein.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference symbols are usedto indicate the same or similar elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Principles of the subject matter described herein will now be describedwith reference to several example embodiments shown in the drawings.Though example embodiments of the subject matter described herein areillustrated in the drawings, it is to be understood that the embodimentsare described only to facilitate those skilled in the art in betterunderstanding and thereby achieving the subject matter described herein,rather than to limit the scope of the disclosure in any manner.

As used herein, the phrase “include(s)” and its variants shall beinterpreted as an open term meaning “including but not limited to.” Thephrase “based on” shall be interpreted as “at least partially based on.”The phrase “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” shall be interpreted as“at least one embodiment.” The term “a” shall be interpreted as “one ormore” unless otherwise specified. The phrase “another embodiment” shallbe interpreted as “at least one other embodiment.” The phrases like“first” and “second” may refer to different or the same objects. Otherdefinitions might also be included explicitly and implicitly in thefollowing description.

Some values or value ranges might be described in the following. It isto be understood that these values and value ranges are only for thepurpose of illustration, which may be advantageous to practice the ideaof the subject matter described herein. However, depiction of theseexamples is not intended to limit the scope of the subject matterdescribed herein in any manner. According to the specific applicationscenarios and needs, the values or value ranges may be set otherwise.

Overview

Conventionally, many projects about wearable devices have focus onexpanding input modalities and functions. For example, a kind ofwearable device uses an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor to enablethe input of 9 aerial movements and other functions (e.g., contextrecognition). Although these aerial movements can provide the user witha fantastic experience, the aerial movements without tactile feedbackaccumulate a large amount of fatigue in a short time, which makes itunsuitable for daily extended usage. Additionally, IMU based devices areoften low-sensitivity, which requires exaggerated movements to berecognized.

Furthermore, some current wearable devices use complicated hardware(e.g., high-cost sensors) and calculation demanding software (e.g.,machine learning), which leads to high power consumption and acumbersome device form. For example, a kind of wearable device enables 6input modalities by using electric field (EF) sensing. However, itincludes hardware that constantly generates an EF signal, which consumesbattery power rapidly and inevitably increases the battery size anddevice size.

Embodiments of the subject matter described herein provide a wearabledevice which can be formed, for example, as a ring as shown in FIG. 1.In this example, the wearable device 100 can be worn on a finger of theuser. The wearable device 100, among other things, is equipped with acollection of sensors to detect a relative movement of two or morefingers such as a first finger 201 and a second finger 202. The wearabledevice 100 recognizes a multi-finger gesture based on such relativemovement of different fingers and then controls an associated terminaldevice 300 based on the multi-finger gesture. In this way, the user maycontrol and interact with the terminal device in a more efficient andflexible way. Detailed description of the example shown in FIG. 1 willbe provided in the following paragraphs.

Now some example structures and functionalities of the wearable device100 will be described.

Example Structure

FIG. 2 shows an example structure of the wearable device 100 accordingto embodiments of the subject matter described herein. In this example,the wearable device 100 is generally of a ring shape that can be worn ona user's finger. As shown, the wearable device 100 has a ring-shapedhousing 101 including an outer side 121, an inner side 122 and a sideportion 123 therebetween. It should be understood that the wearabledevice 100 can be any kind of shape which is adapted to be worn on thefinger. In some embodiments, the wearable devices 100 may be integratedin a ring or a ring-like object.

According to embodiments of the subject matter described herein, thewearable device 100 includes at least two sensors 105, 106, which arereferred to as a first sensor 105 and a second sensor 106, respectively.These two sensors 105, 106 are used to detect the movements of at leasttwo different fingers 201, 202 of the user. Examples of the movements ofthe fingers 201, 202 include, but are not limited to, holding theposition, sliding, tapping, moving close to or apart from one another,or the like. Specifically, in the context of the subject matterdescribed herein, keeping still can be considered as a special kind of“movement”.

The first sensor 105 and/or the second sensor 106 may be infraredproximity sensors, for example. An infrared proximity sensor has small,lightweight, low power-consumption and low-cost capability which makesthe wearable device further lightweight and low power-consumption. Itshould be understood that other kinds of distance measurement sensors,such as optical sensors, capacitive sensors and ultrasonic sensors, canalso be used. In the cases of no need for light transmission, the fiberscan be omitted or adjusted to other structure as needed.

The first sensor 105 is configured to detect at least one movement ofthe first finger 201 or a segment(s) thereof, and the second sensor 106is configured to detect at least one movement of the second finger 202or a segment(s) thereof, as shown in FIG. 1, for example. Specifically,in some embodiments, the wearable device 100 may be worn on one of thefingers 201 and 202. In other embodiments, it is also possible that thewearable device 100 is worn on a third finger different from the firstand second fingers 201, 202. Moreover, it will be appreciated that thefirst and second fingers 201, 202 may or may not belong to the same handof the user.

In some embodiments, either or both of the first and second sensors 105,106 can detect movements of multiple portions of the respectivefinger(s). Portions of a finger may include, for example, segmentsseparated by joints, side portion, ventral side, base, tip, and evennail cover of a finger. Compared with some high-intensity movements,such as aerial movements, the finger movements that need to be detectedby the first and second sensors 105, 106 are only the relative movementsbetween two different fingers, for example, of one hand. It will beappreciated that such movements are very subtle ones and need smallmuscle movements without aerial or hand-raising actions. Accordingly,the movements needed to be detected are less fatigue, which enable theuser to wear the wearable device 100 for a long period, just likewearing a normal ring. Moreover, only two fingers are required to getinvolved in the interaction, which is preferable compared withsingle-hand-operations as the other three fingers of the occupied handcan still perform some tasks, such as holding a bag.

The wearable device 100 also includes a control module 102. The controlmodule 102 may include a controller 107, a battery 115 and acommunication module 114, which will be discussed in the followingparagraphs. In some embodiments, the first and/or second sensors 105,106 may be also located in the control module 102. The control module102 and the housing 101 can be integrally formed. Alternatively, thecontrol module 102 can be attached to the ring-shaped housing 101 bymeans of clamping, gluing, or the like. The control module 102, as shownin FIG. 2, may be arranged at the top of the ring-shaped housing 101,like a diamond on the top of the diamond-ring. As such, the thickness ofthe ring-shaped housing 101 can be reduced. For example, in an exampleimplementation, the thickness of the housing 101 may be less than 1 mm,which can be easily worn all day long without any discomfort.

The controller 107 is configured to determine the relative movementbetween two fingers 201, 202 by receiving and analyzing the movementdata of the fingers detected by the first and second sensors 105, 106.Such a relative movement between two fingers 201, 202 defines atwo-finger gesture. It will be appreciated that when there are moresensors in the wearable device 100 to detect movements of three or morefingers of the user, the controller 107 may determine a multi-fingergesture accordingly. Since it is only required to detect quite simpleand small movements of the fingers, the controller 107 can beimplemented as a low power-consumption and low-cost tiny microcontrollersuch as an 8-bit MCU, for example. In this way, the size of the wearabledevice 100 can be further reduced.

The controller 107 may control a terminal device 300 associated with thewearable device 100, as shown in FIG. 1, based on the relative movement.Examples of the associated terminal device 300 include, but are notlimited to, a phone, a laptop computer, a tablet personal computer, adesktop computer and even other wearable devices such as an HMD, asmartwatch, or the like.

In order to detect movements of the fingers 201, 202, in someembodiments, the wearable device 100 may include a plurality ofconductor assemblies, for example, a first conductor assembly 103 and asecond conductor assembly 104. The first conductor assembly 103 has afirst end 110 and a second end 111. In some embodiments, the first end110 is coupled to the first sensor 105, and the second end 111 isorientated to the first finger 201. Likewise, the second conductorassembly 104 may have a third end 112 coupled to the second sensor 106and a fourth end 113 orientating to the second finger 202. In this way,by arranging the orientations of the ends of the conductor assemblies,movements of different fingers can be detected.

In some embodiments, the second end 111 and the fourth end 113 may belocated at the bottom of the ring-shaped housing 101, as shown in FIG.2. In some embodiments, at least one of the second end 111 and thefourth end 113 may be located at the side part (as shown as a dottedrectangle 120 in FIG. 1) or any position between the bottom and the sidepart of the ring-shaped housing 101.

By way of example, in some embodiments, the first conductor assembly 103may include a first fiber 116 and a second fiber 117. The first andsecond fibers 116, 117 can be arranged in a first channel 108 within thehousing 101, for example. The first channel 108 may be a hollowstructure which can reduce the weight of the wearable device 100.

Specifically, as described above, at the second end 111, the first andsecond fibers 116, 117 are orientated to the first finger 201 to bedetected. In operation, under control of the controller 107, the firstfiber 116 may transmit a signal emitted form the first sensor 105 to thefirst finger 201, while the second fiber 117 is used to transmit an echosignal from the first finger 201 to the first sensor 105. The timedifferent between the echo signal and the emitting signal will vary withthe distance between the first finger 201 and the first sensor 105. Thenthe time different as an input will be transmitted from the first sensor105 to the controller 107. In those embodiments, the controller 107 maydetect the movement of the first finger 201 by analyzing the timedifference, for example.

In some embodiments, the strength of the echo signal varies with thedistance between the first finger 201 and the first sensor 105. In thoseembodiments, the echo signal strength will be transmitted from the firstsensor 105 to the controller 107, which then detects the movement of thefirst finger 201 by analyzing the echo signal strength.

Similar to the first conductor assembly 103, the second conductorassembly 104 may include a third fiber 118 and a fourth fiber 119. Thethird and fourth fibers 118, 119 may be arranged in a second channel 109within the ring-shaped housing 101. The second conductor assembly 104may operate in a similar fashion to the first conductor assembly 103,which will not be repeated herein.

As shown in FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the first fiber 116 and thesecond fiber 117 may be provided in the single first channel 108 formedpreviously. In some embodiments, the first and second fibers 116, 117may be arranged in two channels separately. Likewise, the third fiber118 and the fourth fiber 119 may be arranged in the single secondchannel 109 formed previously or in two channels separately. In someembodiments, the first channel 108 and the second channel 109 may beformed by three-dimensional (3D) printing. It should be understood thatthe first and second channels 108, 109 may be formed in other ways, suchas mold forming or the like.

In some embodiments, the first fiber 116 and the second fiber 117 may beprovided in a first groove (not shown) formed in the inner side 122 ofthe ring-shaped housing 101. Likewise, the third fiber 118 and thefourth fiber 119 may be provided in a second groove (not shown) formedin the inner side 122 of the ring-shaped housing 101. Likewise, in thoseembodiments, the first groove and the second groove may be formed by 3Dprinting or in other ways.

In some embodiments, the first conductor assembly 103 and the secondconductor assembly 104 are arranged in the ring-shaped housing 101.Alternatively, the first conductor assembly 103 is arranged along afirst half of the ring-shaped housing 101 and the second conductorassembly 104 is arranged along the another half. It should be understoodthat in other embodiments, the first and second conductor assemblies103, 104 also can arranged side by side along one common half of thering-shaped housing 101.

In some embodiments, the first and second sensors 105, 106 may beattached to the ring-shaped housing 101 directly without the conductorassemblies 103, 104. For example, in some embodiments, the first andsecond sensors 105, 106 may be located at the bottom of the ring-shapedhousing 101. In some embodiments, at least one of the first and secondsensors 105, 106 may be located at the side part or any position betweenthe bottom and the side part of ring-shaped housing 101.

As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the control module 102 mayinclude the communication module 114 for communicating with theassociated terminal device 300 of FIG. 1, which can be wired orwireless. For example, a Bluetooth-Low-Energy based module may be usedas the communication module 114. In some embodiments, other suitablecommunicating means, such as those based on Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID), Near Field Communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, or thelike, may be used as the communication module 114.

Still in reference to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the control module102 may include a battery 115. Due to the low power consumption ofcontroller 107, the first and second sensors 105, 106 and the otheressential components, the size of the battery 115 can be very small. Insome embodiments, the battery 115 may be replaced with a coil antennamodule (not shown) used to power the wearable device 100. Thus, the sizeof the control module 102 can be reduced further. In this case, the coilantenna module can be used to transmit power from the surroundingdevices and other wearable devices, such as a watchband 400 or the like,to the wearable device 100, as shown in FIG. 3. Alternatively, both thering-shaped housing 101 and the watchband 400 have parallel-facedring-shaped parts that are suitable for embedding coil antennas forpower transmission.

Example Design Process

It will be appreciated that sizes and/or shapes of hands of differentindividuals are different. As a result, an ideal size of the wearabledevice 100 and the positions of some components, such as the position ofthe control module 102, may vary for each user. In some embodiments, thewearable device 100 may be achieved by personalized design with the datarepresenting the 3D shape of a finger or a hand. Specifically, the datarepresenting the 3D shape of the finger or the hand may be collected byvarious conventional methods, such as 3D scanning, which can obtain theshape data of the finger on which the wearable device 100 is to be worn.Based on the 3D shape of the finger or the hand, a design size of thewearable device 100, such as the size of the ring-shaped housing 101 andthe position of at least one component on the housing 101, may bedetermined. Then, based on the size and the position(s), a 3D model canbe generated for the wearable device 100 by various conventionalmethods, such as a lay tracing method.

For example, in some embodiments, the position of the control module 102relative to the housing 101 of the wearable device 100 may be determinedbased on the 3D shape of the fingers 201, 202. As mentioned above, insome embodiments, the control module 102 may include at least one of thefirst sensor 105, the second sensor 106 and the controller 107.

In some embodiments, the first channel 108 and the second channel 109may be generated in the 3D model of the wearable device 100,specifically, in the housing 101 of the wearable device 100.

In some embodiments, the ring-shaped housing 101 of the wearable device100 may be produced or fabricated with via 3D printing based on the 3Dmodel. It should be understood that the wearable device 100 may beproduced in other ways, such as injection molding or the like.

Example Multi-Finger Gestures

Now some examples of the multi-finger gesture will be discussed. Onlyfor illustration, these examples will be described with reference to therelative movements of two fingers. The multi-finger gesture may includea single-movement gesture and a multi-movement gesture, which will bediscussed further below.

Referring back to FIG. 1, it is assumed the wearable device 100 is wornon the base segment 206 (i.e., the first segment) of the index finger201 in this example. In this case, the second end 111 of the firstconductor assembly 103 is orientated to the side part of the thumb 202so that the first sensor 105 can detect the first distance 301 from theside part of the thumb 202 to the first sensor 105. The fourth end 113of the second conductor assembly 103 is orientated to the ventral partof a middle segment 205 of the index finger 201 so that the secondsensor 106 can detect the second distance 302 from the ventral part ofthe middle segment 205 (i.e., the second segment) of the index finger201 to the second sensor 106. Due to the small size of the ring-shapedhousing 101, the first distance 301 is substantially the relevantdistance from the side part of the thumb 202 to the base segment 206 ofthe index finger 201, and the second distance 302 is substantially therelevant distance from the ventral parts of the middle segment 205 tothe base segment 206 of the index finger 201. In this way, the set ofone or more movements can be detected by the first and second sensors105, 106.

Single-Movement Gestures

In a single-movement gesture mode, in the case of the thumb 202 is nottouching the index finger 201 and holding still as shown in FIG. 4a ,the distance detected by the first sensor 105 (referred to as distance X301) and the distance detected by the second sensor 106 (referred to asdistance Y 302) remain constant respectively. For example, distance X301 remains X1, and the distance Y 302 remains Y1. Likewise, in the caseof the thumb 202 touching the index finger 201 and holding still asshown in FIG. 4b , the distances detected by the first sensor 105 andthe second sensor 106 remain the same respectively. Due to the change ofthe position of the thumb 202, the distance X 301 remains X2, which maybe smaller than X1. In this case, the value of distance X can indicateif the thumb 202 is touching the index finger, which can in turnindicate if a movement starts or ends. It can be seen that thecontroller 107 may detect a multi-finger gesture by determining arelevant distance of the first and second finger 201, 202. It should beunderstood that the above is just an example, and the multi-fingergesture may be detected by determining the relevant distance of otherfingers.

In some embodiments, the controller 107 may detect a multi-fingergesture by determining a relevant slide between the first and secondfinger 201, 202 based on the first and second sets of movements. Inthose embodiments, in response to the different sliding directions, thecontroller 107 can trigger different actions. For example, in responseto detecting that the first finger 201 is sliding along the secondfinger 202 from left to right, the controller 107 may trigger arespective action in association with the terminal device 300, and inresponse to detecting that the first finger 201 is sliding along thesecond finger 202 from right to left, the controller 107 may triggeranother respective action in association with the terminal device 300.Now some examples of the sliding movements will be discussed. Only forillustration, these examples will be described below with reference tothe relevant slides between the thumb 202 and the index finger 201 basedon the first and second sets of movements. It should be understood thatthe controller 107 can detect other multi-finger gestures by determiningthe relevant slide between other fingers.

FIGS. 4c-4d show how the distance X 301 and the distance Y 302 change inthe case of the thumb 202 sliding along the index finger. In response tothe sliding of the ventral side of the thumb 202 along the index finger201 from left to right, the second sensor 106 can detect the sliding ofthe thumb 202 and send the detected data to the controller 107, at thesame time, the first sensor 105 can detect that the index finger 201 isholding its position and send the detected data to the controller 107,as shown in FIG. 4 d.

Based on the above first and second sets of movements, the controller107 can detect a multi-finger gesture by determining the above relativemovements between the index finger 201 and the thumb 202. Then, based onthe multi-finger gesture, the controller 107 triggers an action inassociation with the terminal device 300. For example, the controller107 may generate a control signal corresponding to a RIGHT operation tocontrol the terminal device 300. Likewise, in response to the sliding ofthe ventral side of the thumb 202 along the index finger 201 from rightto left, as shown in FIG. 4c , based on a multi-finger gesture detectedby determining the above relative movements between the index finger 201and the thumb 202, the controller 107 triggers an action in associationwith the terminal device 300 by generating a control signalcorresponding to a LEFT operation.

FIGS. 4e-4f show how the distance X 301 and the distance Y 302 change inthe case of the index finger 201 sliding along the thumb 202 upwardlyand downwardly. Similar to the above, in response to the downwardsliding of the side portion of the index finger 201 along the thumb 202,the second sensor 106 can detect that the ventral part of middle segment205 of the index finger 201 is moving downwardly and send the detecteddata to the controller 107. At the same time, the first sensor 105 candetect that the thumb 202 is keeping still and send the detected data tothe controller 107, as shown in FIG. 4 e.

Based on the above first and second sets of movements, the controller107 can detect a multi-finger gesture by determining the above relativemovements between the index finger 201 and the thumb 202. Then based onthe multi-finger gesture, the controller 107 triggers an action inassociation with the terminal device 300 by generating a control signalcorresponding to a DOWN operation to control the terminal device 300, asshown in FIG. 4e . Likewise, in response to the upward sliding of theventral part of middle segment 205 of the index finger 201 along thethumb 202, as shown in FIG. 4f , based on a multi-finger gesturedetected by determining the above relative movements between the indexfinger 201 and the thumb 202, the controller 107 triggers an action inassociation with the terminal device 300 by generating a control signalcorresponding to an UP operation.

It can be seen from the above that in the case of the wearable device100 being worn on the base segment of the index finger 201, the firstsensor 105 can detect at least one movement of the middle segment of theindex finger 202. It should be understood that the above is provided forpurpose of illustration. In some embodiments, in the case of thewearable device 100 being worn on one segment of another finger, atleast one of the first and second sensors 105, 106 can detect anothersegment of the finger that is different from the segment.

In some embodiments, the controller 107 may detect a tapping gesture bydetermining a relevant movement between the first and second fingers201, 202. In this case, in response to the different tapped segments ofthe finger, the controller 107 can trigger different actions. Forexample, the controller 107 may trigger a first action in response todetecting that the first finger 201 taps a second segment of the secondfinger 202 and trigger a second action different from the first actionin response to detecting that the first finger 201 taps a third segmentof the second finger 202. Now an example of the tapping gesture will bediscussed. Only for illustration, these examples will be described belowwith reference to the tapping gesture of the thumb 202 and the indexfinger 201. In this case, the middle segment 205 of the index finger 201is the second segment mentioned above, and the outmost segment 204 ofthe index finger 201 is the third segment, as shown in FIG. 1. It shouldbe understood that the tapping gesture between other fingers may bedetected, and then the controller 107 can trigger respective actionsbased on the detection likewise.

FIG. 4g shows how the distance X 301 and the distance Y 302 change inthe case of the thumb 202 tapping an outmost segment 204 (i.e., thethird segment) of the index finger or tapping near the outmost segment204. In this case, the first sensor 105 can detect that the thumb 202 ismoving approach to and/or apart from the outmost segment 204 and sendthe detected data to the controller 107, at the same time, the secondsensor 106 can detect that the index finger is keeping still and sendthe detected data to the controller 107, as shown in FIG. 4 e.

Based on the above first and second sets of movements, the controller107 detects a multi-finger gesture by determining the above relativemovements between the index finger 201 and the thumb 202. Then based onthe multi-finger gesture, the controller 107 triggers an action inassociation with the terminal device 300 by generating a control signalcorresponding to an OK operation.

FIG. 4h shows how the distance X 301 and the distance Y 302 change inthe case of the thumb 202 tapping a middle segment 205 of the indexfinger or tapping near the middle segment 205. In this case, the firstsensor 105 can detect that the thumb 202 is moving approach to and/orapart from the middle segment 205 and send the detected data to thecontroller 107. At the same time, the second sensor 106 can detect thatthe index finger is keeping still and send the detected data to thecontroller 107, as shown in FIG. 4 e.

Based on the above first and second sets of movements, the controller107 detects a multi-finger gesture by determining the above relativemovements between the index finger 201 and the thumb 202. Then based onthe multi-finger gesture, the controller 107 triggers another action inassociation with the terminal device 300 by generating a control signalcorresponding to a CANCEL operation. Through the above, it can be seenhow simply to achieve the control by means of the wearable devices 100in accordance with the subject matter described herein. It should beunderstood that in addition to the actions mentioned above, more actionscan be achieved by the subject matter described herein, which will bediscussed in the following paragraphs.

FIG. 5 shows the case of the wearable device 100 being worn on the thumb202. Similar to the case of being worn on the index finger 201, thewearable device 100 is worn on the base segment 207 of the thumb 202. Inthis case, the first sensor 105 may detect the third distance 303 fromthe ventral part of base segment 206 of the index finger 201 to thefirst sensor 105, and the second sensor 106 may detect the fourthdistance 304 from the ventral part of the outmost segment 204 of theindex finger 201 to the second sensor 106. Likewise, the third distance303 is substantially the relevant distance from the ventral part of basesegment 206 of the index finger 201 to the side part of the thumb 202and the fourth distance 304 is substantially the relevant distance fromthe ventral part of the outmost segment 204 of the index finger 201 tothe base segment 207 of the thumb 202. It should be understood thatFIGS. 2 and 5 are merely examples, and the wearable device 100 can beworn on any one segment of any finger, as long as the first and secondsensors 105, 106 can detect the set of one or more movements of the sameor different fingers.

Similar to the case of the wearable device 100 being worn on the indexfinger 201, FIGS. 6a-6h show the distance data detected by the firstsensor 105 (referred to as distance X 303) and the distance datadetected by the second sensor 106 (referred to as distance Y 304) in thecase of the wearable device 100 being worn on the thumb 202. In thiscase, the terminal device 300 may be controlled in a similar fashion tothe case of the wearable device 100 being worn on the index finger 201,which will not be repeated herein.

As can be seen from the above that the first sensor 105 and the secondsensor 106 can detect one or more subtle relative movements between theindex finger 201 and the thumb 202, and the controller 107 can detect amulti-finger gesture by determining the set of one or more movements andcontrol the associated terminal device 300 based on the multi-fingergesture. Compared to the “aerial” or “hand-raising” movements, the abovemovements use fewer muscles so that it can decrease fatigue inoperation.

It can be seen from the above that the movements that can be detected bythe first and second sensor 105, 106 are very intuitive and can beeasily understood. Further, while performing these movements, naturaltactile feedback may be obtained, so that performing these movements canbe totally eyes-free. In some embodiments, the wearable device 100 maybe combined with audio feedback and provide the user with digitalinformation in scenarios like jogging and walking.

It will be appreciated that in the single-movement gesture mode, bydetecting specific multi-finger gestures, the wearable device 100 canfulfill the X-Y slider (FIG. 7a ) and two-button functions (FIG. 7b ).The sets of movements detected by the first and second sensors 105, 106are similar to those as used in commonly-used handy gamepad devices.Generally, original gamepad device provides 4-way directional cursoroperations. The wearable device 100 as described herein is able toprovide analog X-Y slider actions, vertical and horizontal scroll wheeloperations and X-Y pointing operations, in addition to the conventional4-way directional cursor operations. Thus, the wearable device 100 mayact as a universal input or control device for many kinds of wearabledevices and surrounding appliances, such as smartwatches 300, earphones500, HMDs 600, remote devices 700, or the like.

In some embodiments, finger sliding actions as shown in FIG. 7a may beused for different types of operations. For example, in one embodiment,4-way directional cursor operations can be enabled, where slidingactions of “increasing X”, “decreasing X”, “increasing Y”, and“decreasing Y” may be assigned for “cursor right”, “cursor left”,“cursor up” and “cursor down”, respectively. In one embodiment, 8-waydirectional cursor operations may be enabled by using the sliding action“increasing X+increasing Y” for “cursor upper-right”, for example.

Alternatively, or in addition, in another embodiment, X-Y slideroperations may be enabled. For example, by sliding thumb on the sidepart of index finger, two analog sliders are assigned for both X and Ypositions such as sound volume (Y) and balance (X). As such, both volumeand balance can be controlled at once. This operation style can also beused as “2D pointing device”.

In yet another embodiment, it is possible to implement wheel operations.For example, sliding actions of “increasing X”, “decreasing X”,“increasing Y” and “decreasing Y” may be interpreted as “horizontalwheel right”, “horizontal wheel left”, “vertical wheel up” and “verticalwheel down”, respectively.

Additionally, unlike the voice input method, the operation of thewearable device 100 is totally silent and private, which makes itavailable at public spaces and would not bother the user and surroundingpeople.

Multi-Movement Gestures

As mentioned above, in addition to the single-movement gesture, themulti-finger gesture may include a multi-movement gesture, which isshown in FIGS. 8a and 8b . In this case, the controller 107 may triggerone or more actions by generating the control signal according to a setof movements, such as rhythmically repeated shuttle-sliding movements ofthe first finger 201 along the second finger 202, multiple tappingmovements of the first finger 201 relative to the second finger 202, ortheir combinations.

For example, in multi-movement gesture mode, in response to rhythmicallyrepeated shuttle-sliding movements of the first finger 201 along thesecond finger 202, the controller 107 can detect a multi-finger gestureby determining the above sets of movements. Based on the detectedmulti-finger gesture, the controller 107 may trigger an action (i.e.,the first action) by generating a control signal, for example,corresponding to the ACTIVATION operation which activates a certainfunction(s) on the associated terminal device. In response torhythmically repeated shuttle-sliding movements of the second finger 202along the first finger 201, the controller 107 can detect a multi-fingergesture by determining the above set of movements. Based on the detectedmulti-finger gesture, the controller 107 may trigger another action(i.e., the second action), for example, corresponding to theDEACTIVATION operation which deactivates a certain function(s) on theassociated terminal device.

It should be understood that the ACTIVATION operation or theDEACTIVATION operation are merely examples to illustrate theembodiments. In some embodiments, in response to the above movements ofthe first and second fingers 201, 202, the controller 107 may triggerone or more other actions by generating one or more control signals,such as opening or closing a specific application when controlling aphone, marking or unmarking a song as a favorite when controlling a MP3,or the like.

In some embodiments, according to the different times or the differentfrequencies of rhythmically repeated shuttle-sliding and/or tappingmovements, the controller 107 can detect different multi-finger gesturesby determining the above set of movements. Based on the detectedmulti-finger gestures, the controller 107 may trigger one or moredifferent actions by generating different control signals.

For example, in response to multiple times (e.g., more than 3 times) ofa fast (e.g., more than about 120/min) rhythmically repeatedshuttle-sliding movement of the first finger 201 along the second finger202, the controller 107 can detect a multi-finger gesture by determiningthe above set of movements. Based on the detected multi-finger gesture,the controller 107 may trigger an action by generating a control signal,for example, corresponding to the operation of selecting and copying thewhole words in one paragraph of a document when the wearable device 100controls a computer. Furthermore, in response to multiple times (e.g.,more than 3 times) of a slow (e.g., less than 60/min) rhythmicallyrepeated shuttle-sliding movement of the first finger 201 along thesecond finger 202, the controller 107 may trigger an action bygenerating a control signal, for example, corresponding to the operationof selecting and copying whole words in one line.

It can be seen that in the multi-movement gesture mode, the controller107 can trigger more actions based on various sets of movements, i.e.,the wearable devices 100 can control the terminal devices in variousways. In some embodiments, the user may customize the actions triggeredby the controller 107 according to a specific set of movements. Thus,the controller 107 may trigger different actions by generating differentcontrol signals according to the same set of movements, which depends onthe user's customization. In some embodiments, a user also can addcustomized sets of movements to trigger different actions. For example,the user can customize a set of movements that a combination ofrhythmically repeated shuttle-sliding movements and one tapping movementof the first finger 201 along the second finger 202 to trigger an actionof deleting a song.

It should be understood that when using such a wearable device 100, itis needed to separate multi-finger gestures or movements from thedaily-life movements. Thus, especially in the multi-movement gesturemode, a set of movements that can cause the controller 107 to trigger anaction should be a special set of movements that rarely appear in ourdaily life. For example, by using a set of rarely-appeared movementswith rhythm such as fast-fast-slow-fast or slow-fast-slow-fast as shownin FIG. 8b , it is possible to prevent unexpectedactivation/deactivation. Here “fast” means one time fast slidingmovement of the first finger 201 along the second finger 202, while“slow” means one time fast sliding movement. It is to be understood thatthe special movement-set may be factor pre-set or manually set by theuser.

In some embodiments, the user can activate/deactivate the wearabledevice 100 or switch between the single-movement gesture mode and themulti-movement gesture mode by using a specific set of movements of thefirst and second fingers 201, 202 to avoid misoperation. For example, insome embodiments, the wearable device 100 may be activated ordeactivated by means of a sensor (not shown) or a switch (not shown)placed on the inner side 122 or the outer side 121 of the ring-shapedhousing 101 of the wearable device 100. In some embodiments, in responseto the wearable device 100 being worn on a user's finger, the wearabledevice 100 may be activated automatically. In some embodiments, at leasta part of the outer side 121 of the ring-shaped housing 101 may betouchable. Thus, in response to touching the specific touchable surfaceon the outer side 121, the wearable device 100 may be activated ordeactivated accordingly.

Furthermore, in deactivated status, either the first sensor 105 or thesecond sensor 106 is needed to work continuously, while the other sensormay be put on an idle status and is powered when activated. Therefore,the power consumption will be further reduced.

Example Processing Flows

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of method implement at the wearable device 100in accordance with one implementation of the subject matter describedherein. The method 1300 may be implemented by the controller 107 tocontrol the above mentioned surrounding devices. As shown, in block1310, a first set of one or more movements of a first finger 201 of auser is detected with a first sensor 105.

In block 1320, a second set of one or more movements of a second finger202 that is different from the first finger 201 is detected with asecond sensor 106. Then in block 1330, a multi-finger gesture isdetected by a controller 107 by determining a relative movement betweenthe first and second finger 201, 202 based on the first and second setsof movements. In block 1340, a terminal device 300 associated with thewearable device 100 is controlled based on the multi-finger gesture.

Some example implementations of the above process will now be described.Referring now to FIG. 10, which shows an example of recognition-flow ofthe recognition algorithm 1400 for the controller 107 in asingle-movement gesture mode when the wearable device 100 is worn on theindex finger 201.

In block 1401, the single-movement gesture mode is enabled, and then inblock 1402 the controller 107 determines if the distance Y 302 ischanged according to the difference between the maximal distance Y andthe minimum distance Y being larger or smaller than a thresholddifference Y. The maximal distance Y means the maximal value detected bythe second sensor 106 during one recognizing period. One recognizingperiod may be a pre-set period or may be a period before one controlsignal is generated. Likewise, the minimum distance Y means the minimumvalue detected by the second sensor 106 during one recognizing period.Further, the threshold difference Y may be a factor pre-set value whichis stored in the controller 107 and cannot be change by the user. Insome embodiments, the threshold difference Y may be a value which can beset by the user through other wearable devices or surrounding devices,such as a phone, a computer or the smartwatch 300. By setting thethreshold, the misoperation can be effectively avoided.

Likewise, the maximal distance X means the maximal value detected by thefirst sensor 105 during one recognizing period, and the minimum distanceX means the minimum value detected by the first sensor 105 during onerecognizing period and the threshold difference X may be a factorpre-set value or a value which can be set by the user.

Still in reference to FIG. 10, in block 1406, in the case of thedistance Y 302 being changed, i.e., the difference between the maximaldistance Y and the minimum distance Y is larger than a thresholddifference Y, the controller 107 then detects a multi-finger gesture bydetermining if the last distance Y (means the final detecting valueduring one recognizing period) is large by determining if the lastdistance Y is larger than the average of the maximal distance Y and theminimum distance Y. If the last distance Y is larger than the average,i.e., the last distance Y is large, the controller 107 can detect themulti-finger gesture corresponding to the set of the movements that theventral part of middle segment 205 of the index finger 201 is movingupwardly. Then the controller 107 triggers an action by generating acontrol signal corresponding to the UP operation, as shown in FIGS. 4fand 6f . On the contrary, if the last distance Y is smaller than theaverage, i.e., the last distance Y is small. In this way, the controller107 can detect a multi-finger gesture corresponding to the set of themovements that the ventral part of middle segment 205 of the indexfinger 201 is moving downwardly. The controller 107 triggers an actionby generating a control signal corresponding to the DOWN operation, asshown in FIGS. 4e and 6 e.

In the case of the distance Y 302 being not changed, i.e., thedifference between the maximal distance Y and the minimum distance Y issubstantially equal to a threshold difference Y, in block 1403, thecontroller 107 determines if the distance X 301 is changed bydetermining if the difference between the maximal distance X and theminimum distance X is larger than a threshold difference X. If so, inblock 1405, the controller 107 then detects a multi-finger gesture bydetermining if the last distance X is large by judging if the lastdistance X is larger than the average of the maximal distance X and theminimum distance X.

If the last distance X is larger than the average, i.e., the lastdistance X is large, the controller 107 can detect a multi-fingergesture corresponding to the set of the movements that ventral side ofthe thumb 202 is sliding along the index finger 201 from right to left.Then the controller 107 triggers an action by generating a controlsignal corresponding to the LEFT operation, as shown in FIGS. 4c and 6c. If the last distance X is smaller than the average, i.e., the lastdistance Y is small, the controller 107 can detect a multi-fingergesture corresponding to the set of the movements that ventral side ofthe thumb 202 is sliding along the index finger 201 from left to right.Then the controller 107 triggers an action by generating a controlsignal corresponding to the RIGHT operation, as shown in FIGS. 4d and 6d.

On the other hand, in block 1404, if the distance X 301 is not changed,the controller 107 then determines if the last distance X is changed bydetermining if the last distance X is larger than the threshold tappingdistance X that is used to decide which segment is being taped and canbe a factor pre-set or set by the user. If so, the controller 107detects a multi-finger gesture by determining that the thumb 202 istapping the outmost segment 204 of the index finger 201, and thentriggers an action by generating a control signal corresponding to theOK operation, as shown in FIGS. 4g and 6g . If the last distance X 301is not larger than the threshold tapping distance X 301, the controller107 detects a multi-finger gesture by determining that the thumb 202 istapping the middle segment of the index finger 201, and then triggers anaction by generating a control signal corresponding to the CANCELoperation, as shown in FIGS. 4h and 6 h.

In the case of the wearable device 100 being worn on the thumb 202, thecontrol process is basically similar to the above, which will not berepeated herein.

Likewise, the recognition algorithm of the multi-movement gesture issimple. As mentioned above, the special set of movements for themulti-movement gesture can be pre-set or manually set by the user. Thenthe recognition algorithm can cause the controller 107 to trigger anaction by generating a specific control signal by detecting if a set ofmovements performed by the user is substantially consistent to thespecial set of movements. The degree of the consistency can be achievedby setting a threshold. For example, the threshold can be set to 90%,which means that if more than 90% of the detected set of movements isconsistent to the special set of movements, then the controller 107 iscaused to trigger an action by generating the specific control signalcorresponding to the special set of movements.

In some embodiments, by using the simplicity of the recognitionalgorithm, and with for example a Bluetooth-Low-Energy based modulebeing used as the communication module 114, the low power consumption ofthe wearable device 100 can be achieved.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, for the sake of control, some distancevalues, such as the minimum distance X, the minimum distance Y, themaximum distance X, the maximum distance Y, the last distance X and thelast distance Y, are needed to be detected and recorded. In someembodiments, the controller 107 can adjust the threshold valuesautomatically, such as the threshold distance X, the threshold distanceY and the threshold tapping distance X, according to the above recordeddistance values, to make the control more accurately. In someembodiments, the threshold values may be manually set before startingusing the wearable device 100. In some embodiments, the threshold valuesmay be pre-set values which may be suitable for most people.

Example Scenarios

As mentioned above, the wearable device 100 can be used withsmartwatches, HMDs, headphones and remote devices. The examples ofwearable device 100 used in above devices are illustrated below.

Smartwatch Control

As shown in FIG. 11a , the wearable device 100 is used with asmartwatch, which can realize controls, such as 4-direction cursormovements (menu navigation), 1-D slider dragging (volume control) and2-D surface manipulation (map navigation). Compared to the conventionaltouch input method, the wearable device 100 can leave the watch screentotally open when operating. It uses only two fingers and the movements,which are totally silent and private. The mapping between movementdirection and control direction can be assigned automatically accordingto hand status, which is very intuitive. In one embodiment, thesmartwatch and wearable device may have coil-antennas for powertransmission.

Earphone Control

As shown in FIG. 11b , the wearable device 100 is used with an earphone.The conventional input method for earphones is to use the physicalcontroller on the wire or the headphone. However, such operationsrequire users to raise their hand, which are not available when thehands are occupied (e.g. holding bags). The number and size limitationof the control elements also weaken the intuitiveness (e.g., usingdouble-click for the next song and triple-click for the last song). Withthe wearable device 100, by using subtle multi-finger gestures, alloperations can be done easily and intuitively without raising the hand.For example, the set of movements that the first finger 201 slides fromleft to right twice along the second finger 202 can be used forswitching the songs or adjusting the volume. For example, the set ofmovements that the first finger 201 tapes twice can play or pause thesong and tag the song as “liked”.

HMD Control

As shown in FIG. 11c , the wearable device 100 is used with an HMD.Existing methods for HMD control are to use voice, aerial gestures orwired controllers. As mentioned above, voice control will inevitablyinvolve privacy issues and aerial gestures can cause significantfatigue. In contrast, the wearable device 100 does not require the userto raise their hands or grab something in hand. It is also privateenough that can be done inside the pocket.

Television Control

The wearable device 100 can also be used to control other remotesurrounding devices, for example a television, as shown in FIG. 11d .Once connected, navigating the menu or playing simple games can be doneeasily with the set of one or more movements. This could be helpful forusers who may want to avoid direct contacts with public terminal devices(e.g. in the middle of a surgery). In such cases, the wearable device100 can provide remote control as the result of its universal controlbenefit.

Example Implementations

Hereinafter, some example implementations of the subject matterdescribed herein will be enumerate.

In some embodiments, a wearable device is provided. The wearable device100, comprises a first sensor 105 configured to detect a first set ofone or more movements of a first finger 201 of a user; a second sensor106 configured to detect a second set of one or more movements of asecond finger 202 that is different from the first finger; and acontroller 107 configured to detect a multi-finger gesture bydetermining a relative movement between the first and second fingers201, 202 based on the first and second sets of movements; and control,based on the multi-finger gesture, a terminal device 300 associated withthe wearable device.

In some embodiments, the wearable device further comprises a firstconductor assembly 103 including a first end 110 coupled to the firstsensor 105 and a second end 111 extending from the wearable device 100and orientating to the first finger 201; and a second conductor assembly104 including a third end 112 coupled to the second sensor 106 and afourth end 113 extending from the wearable device 100 and orientating tothe second finger 202.

In some embodiments, the first conductor assembly 103 includes a firstfiber 116 operable to transmit a signal emitted by the first sensor 105to the first finger 201, and a second fiber 117 operable to transmit anecho signal from the first finger 201 to the first sensor 105, and thesecond conductor assembly 104 includes a third fiber 118 operable totransmit a signal emitted by the second sensor 106 to the second finger202, and a fourth fiber 119 operable to transmit an echo signal from thesecond finger 202 to the second sensor 106.

In some embodiments, the first conductor assembly 103 is arranged in afirst channel 108, and the second conductor assembly 104 is arranged ina second channel 109, the first and second channels being formed in ahousing 101 of the wearable device 100.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first and second sensors 105,106 is an infrared proximity sensor.

In some embodiments, the wearable device 100 is worn on a first segment206 of the first finger 201, and the first sensor 105 is configured todetect at least one movement of at least one second segment 204 of thefirst finger 201 that is different from the first segment 206.

In some embodiments, the controller 107 is configured to detect themulti-finger gesture by determining a relevant distance of the first andsecond fingers 201, 202.

In some embodiments, the wearable device 100 further comprises a batterymodule 115 or a coil-antenna module configured to power the wearabledevice.

In some embodiments, the controller 107 is configured to themulti-finger gesture by determining a relevant slide between the firstand second fingers based on the first and second sets of movements.

In some embodiments, the controller 107 is configured to: in response todetecting that the first finger 201 taps a second segment of the secondfinger 202, trigger a first action in association with the terminaldevice 300; and in response to detecting that the first finger 201 tapsa third segment of the second finger 202, trigger a second action inassociation with the terminal device 300.

In some embodiments, the wearable device 100 is of a ring shape.

In some embodiments, a method for designing a wearable device 100 isprovided. The method comprises: collecting data representing athree-dimensional (3D) shape of a finger 201, 202 of a user; determininga size of the wearable device 100 based on the 3D shape of the finger;determining a position of at least one component of the wearable device100 based on the 3D shape of the finger; and generating a 3D model forthe wearable device 100 based on the size of the wearable device 100 anda position of the at least one component.

In some embodiments, determining a position of at least one component ofthe wearable device comprises determining a position of a control module102 relative to a housing 101 of the wearable device 100, thecontrolling module 102 including at least one of a first sensor 105, asecond 106 and a controller 107.

In some embodiments, generating a 3D model comprises generating, in the3D model of the wearable device 100, a first channel 108 and a secondchannel 109 in a housing 101 of the wearable device 100, the firstchannel being used to arrange a first conductor assembly 103, and thesecond channel being used to arrange a second conductor assembly 104.

In some embodiments, collecting the data comprises collecting the datarepresenting 3D shape of the finger 201, 202 by 3D scanning.

In some embodiments, a method implemented at a wearable device 100 isprovided. The method comprises detecting a first set of one or moremovements of a first finger 201 of a user with a first sensor 105;detecting a second set of one or more movements of a second finger 202that is different from the first finger with a second sensor 106;detecting a multi-finger gesture by determining a relative movementbetween the first and second fingers 201, 202 based on the first andsecond sets of movements by a controller 107; and controlling a terminaldevice 300 associated with the wearable device 100 based on themulti-finger gesture.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises detecting at least onemovement of at least one second segment 204 of the first finger 201 thatis different from the first segment 206 of the first finger 201 on whichthe wearable device 100 is worn with first sensor 105.

In some embodiments, detecting the multi-finger gesture comprisesdetecting at least one movement of at least one second segment 204 ofthe first finger 201 that is different from the first segment 206 of thefirst finger 201 on which the wearable device 100 is worn.

In some embodiments, detecting the multi-finger gesture comprisesdetecting the multi-finger gesture by determining a relevant slidebetween the first and second fingers 201, 202 based on the first andsecond sets of movements.

In some embodiments, controlling the terminal device 300 comprisestriggering a first action in association with the terminal device 300 inresponse to detecting that the first finger 201 taps a second segment ofthe second finger 202, and triggering a second action in associationwith the terminal device 300 in response to detecting that the firstfinger 201 taps a third segment of the second finger 202.

It should be appreciated that the above detailed embodiments of thepresent disclosure are only to exemplify or explain principles of thepresent disclosure and not to limit the present disclosure. Therefore,any modifications, equivalent alternatives and improvement, etc. withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure shall beincluded in the scope of protection of the present disclosure.Meanwhile, appended claims of the present disclosure aim to cover allthe variations and modifications falling under the scope and boundary ofthe claims or equivalents of the scope and boundary.

1. A wearable device, comprising: a first sensor configured to detect afirst set of one or more movements of a first finger of a user; a secondsensor configured to detect a second set of one or more movements of asecond finger that is different from the first finger; and a controllerconfigured to: detect a multi-finger gesture by determining a relativemovement between the first and second fingers based on the first andsecond sets of movements; and control, based on the multi-fingergesture, a terminal device associated with the wearable device.
 2. Thewearable device of claim 1, further comprising: a first conductorassembly including a first end coupled to the first sensor and a secondend extending from the wearable device and orientating to the firstfinger; and a second conductor assembly including a third end coupled tothe second sensor and a fourth end extending from the wearable deviceand orientating to the second finger.
 3. The wearable device of claim 2,wherein the first conductor assembly includes a first fiber operable totransmit a signal emitted by the first sensor to the first finger, and asecond fiber operable to transmit an echo signal from the first fingerto the first sensor, and the second conductor assembly includes a thirdfiber operable to transmit a signal emitted by the second sensor to thesecond finger, and a fourth fiber operable to transmit an echo signalfrom the second finger to the second sensor.
 4. The wearable device ofclaim 2, wherein the first conductor assembly is arranged in a firstchannel, and the second conductor assembly is arranged in a secondchannel, the first and second channels being formed in a housing of thewearable device.
 5. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein at least oneof the first and second sensors is an infrared proximity sensor.
 6. Thewearable device of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is worn on afirst segment of the first finger, and the first sensor is configured todetect at least one movement of at least one second segment of the firstfinger that is different from the first segment.
 7. The wearable deviceof claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to detect themulti-finger gesture by determining a relevant distance of the first andsecond fingers.
 8. The wearable device of claim 1, further comprising abattery module or a coil-antenna module configured to power the wearabledevice.
 9. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the controller isconfigured to detect the multi-finger gesture by determining a relevantslide between the first and second fingers based on the first and secondsets of movements.
 10. The wearable of claim 1, wherein the controlleris configured to: in response to detecting that the first finger taps asecond segment of the second finger, trigger a first action inassociation with the terminal device; and in response to detecting thatthe first finger taps a third segment of the second finger, trigger asecond action in association with the terminal device.
 11. The wearabledevice of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is of a ring shape.
 12. Amethod for designing a wearable device, comprising: collecting datarepresenting a three-dimensional shape of a finger of a user;determining a size of the wearable device based on the 3D shape of thefinger; determining a position of at least one component of the wearabledevice based on the 3D shape of the finger; and generating a 3D modelfor the wearable device based on the size of the wearable device and aposition of the at least one component.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein determining a position of at least one component of the wearabledevice comprises: determining a position of a control module relative toa housing of the wearable device, the controlling module including atleast one of a first sensor a second sensor and a controller.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein generating a 3D model comprises: generating,in the 3D model of the wearable device, a first channel and a secondchannel in a housing of the wearable device, the first channel beingused to arrange a first conductor assembly, and the second channel beingused to arrange a second conductor assembly.
 15. The method of claim 12,wherein collecting the data comprises: collecting the data representingthe 3D shape of the finger by performing a 3D scan on the finger.
 16. Amethod implemented at a wearable device, comprising: detecting a firstset of one or more movements of a first finger of a user; detecting asecond set of one or more movements of a second finger that is differentfrom the first finger; detecting a multi-finger gesture by determining arelative movement between the first and second fingers based on thefirst and second sets of movements; and controlling, based on themulti-finger gesture, a terminal device associated with the wearabledevice.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein detecting the multi-fingergesture comprises: detecting at least one movement of at least onesecond segment of the first finger that is different from the firstsegment of the first finger on which the wearable device is worn. 18.The method of claim 16, wherein detecting the multi-finger gesturecomprises: detecting the multi-finger gesture by determining a relevantdistance of the first and second fingers.
 19. The method of claim 16,wherein detecting the multi-finger gesture comprises: detecting themulti-finger gesture by determining a relevant slide between the firstand second fingers based on the first and second sets of movements. 20.The method of claim 16, wherein controlling the terminal devicecomprises: triggering a first action in association with the terminaldevice in response to detecting that the first finger taps a secondsegment of the second finger, and triggering a second action inassociation with the terminal device in response to detecting that thefirst finger taps a third segment of the second finger.